Killer B's Talent for Swordsmanship

After exchanging for the jutsu, the two of them went to the Ninja Academy's training grounds to begin practicing.

Chiba Shun had many jutsu to train. Quite a few of the jutsu he had obtained from Konoha required practice.

For example, the B-rank Jutsu he had already used: Underground Movement and the Heartless Decapitation Technique.

Besides those two, there was another B-rank Earth Release jutsu.

He could also try practicing the other two A-rank Earth Release jutsu. His chakra reserves had barely reached the required level.

Finally, he still had to continue learning Sakai Yushi's Four-Sword Style Swordsmanship.

With Earth Release jutsu, Chiba Shun planned to shift his focus from swordsmanship to ninjutsu. His talent for swordsmanship did not seem as good as his talent for ninjutsu.

However, he still had to master Four-Sword Style Swordsmanship. If someone got close to him, he could not be completely incapable of fighting back.

Sakai Yushi was already developing Five-Sword Style, and Chiba Shun needed to help him come up with ideas.

Sakai Yushi, meanwhile, began practicing the Lightning Release Body Flicker Technique. This technique could potentially injure the body during training, so he had to be extremely careful.

It also required quite a few medicines, since the Lightning Release Stimulation Method could easily harm the body.

If the two of them had not become well-off recently, they would not have been able to afford the expenses even if they had obtained this jutsu.

The next day, Chiba Shun once again told the Ninja Academy students about his trip to Konoha. He described the journey as an adventure into a den of demons.

It was as if he had been in danger every moment he spent in Konoha.

He had sparred with Konoha's talented youths of his generation, openly and secretly battled Konoha's great ninja clans, and outwitted Konoha's higher-ups. He had fought for the village's interests and forced Konoha to yield, abandoning its scheme to attack the Land of Lightning.

He was not worried that the children would disbelieve him.

After all, twenty-four people had gone to Konoha with him this time, but only two had returned safely.

With such a brutal casualty rate right before them, no one would think Chiba Shun was exaggerating.

If someone claimed that Chiba Shun had spent every day eating and drinking in Konoha, they would definitely get spat in the face.

In the end, Chiba Shun praised all twenty-four children in front of everyone.

Especially the final two survivors.

He invited the boy and girl to stand before the crowd, then gave each of them fifty thousand ryō in mission rewards before everyone's eyes.

In a low voice, he said, "Ayana, Shosuke, because you are still young and have not yet become ninja, the village did not record this mission under your names."

"But the village will not forget you!"

"These fifty thousand ryō are the village's recognition of your heroic deeds!"

"You are inheritors of the Will of Lightning!"

"Lord Raikage said that all Ninja Academy students must learn from you!"

The two children were still somewhat dazed. They seemed not to have done anything, so how had they become heroes?

They had even received an enormous reward they had never dared dream of!

However, seeing so many children their age looking at them with admiration, they could not help puffing out their chests.

Chiba Shun looked at them and smiled.

He could sense that something in their auras seemed to have changed.

For ninja, that meant they had initially found their own Ninja Way.

Though it was not very clear yet, this step was extremely important and would greatly help their future growth.

Ninja were like that. Sometimes they grew during battle, and sometimes after facing life and death.

Each time they grew, their chakra level would rise slightly.

After enough times, it would undergo a qualitative transformation.

The two children's chakra had experienced two slight increases, but it had not yet reached that qualitative transformation.

That day, as usual, Chiba Shun first made a round of the Ninja Academy before beginning his training.

However, when he approached a certain training ground, he heard a strange sound.

He quickly headed toward that training ground.

Yet as he drew near, he vaguely sensed someone watching him.

Thanks to his sensory jutsu, Chiba Shun was sensitive to this sort of surveillance that was not deliberately concealed and even seemed to carry a hint of warning.

Chiba Shun initially felt somewhat uncomfortable, but once he thought of the identity of the voice's owner, he relaxed. It had to be the ANBU protecting the Jinchūriki.

That was right. The owner of the voice was Killer B, who was giving a speech to a group of Ninja Academy children in a rap-like manner.

Well, perhaps Killer B saw it as a concert.

To be honest, without knowing Killer B's identity as a Jinchūriki, the children were quite interested in his rap and listened happily.

Chiba Shun found it somewhat strange. Killer B had actually come to the Ninja Academy?

Were the higher-ups not afraid that he would lose control?

When Killer B saw Chiba Shun arrive, he showed no reaction. Instead, Yozuki A walked over to him.

Pointing at Killer B, Yozuki A said, "This is the companion I told you about. He's also skilled with the sword. You can exchange pointers later."

Chiba Shun nodded. After thinking for a moment, he said, "The companion I mentioned is also in the village right now. Wait here a moment. I'll go bring him over."

"He recently went to the Land of Iron and has completely mastered Four-Sword Style Swordsmanship. He's currently researching Five-Sword Style Swordsmanship."

Yozuki A hesitated for a moment, given Killer B's special identity.

But since Killer B had already appeared at the Ninja Academy, meeting one more ninja would not make much difference.

A short while later, Chiba Shun arrived at the training ground with Sakai Yushi.

By then, Killer B was still holding his concert.

Unable to endure it any longer, Yozuki A rushed forward and knocked Killer B off the stage with a single punch.

Then, under the watchful eyes of a group of little brats, everyone left the Ninja Academy.

A Jinchūriki could not remain at the Ninja Academy while sparring with others.

They went to a relatively secluded training ground in the village and began their swordsmanship sparring.

Killer B's talent truly was formidable. Merely from hearing Yozuki A describe Chiba Shun's swordsmanship, he mastered Four-Sword Style.

He was even more proficient than Chiba Shun.

When Chiba Shun sparred with him in swordsmanship, it was almost entirely one-sided. He was suppressed throughout the entire fight.

There was no helping it. Killer B's swordsmanship had always been far stronger than that of an amateur like Chiba Shun, who had only recently advanced to Chunin.

Killer B had also mastered sword aura, though he did not use it while fighting Chiba Shun.

Chiba Shun's talent was not bad, but there was still a gap between him and a top genius like Killer B.

Moreover, Chiba Shun knew that his talent for taijutsu was not as good as his talent for ninjutsu.

He had learned and developed swordsmanship because he could not learn ninjutsu suited to him in Kumogakure.

Ever since obtaining Konoha's jutsu, Chiba Shun had clearly spent more time on ninjutsu than swordsmanship.

Chiba Shun could clearly sense that his ninjutsu was improving far faster than his swordsmanship.

Left with no choice, Sakai Yushi had to take the field.

Sakai Yushi was far stronger than Chiba Shun. He was already a Jonin, on par with Killer B, who was also a Jonin.

Moreover, his swordsmanship was no weaker than Killer B's current swordsmanship. His Four-Sword Style, or rather, Five-Sword Style, was even more proficient than Killer B's.

Their battle could be said to be evenly matched.

They fought back and forth for a long time. Judging by their expressions, both of them seemed thoroughly satisfied.

Yozuki A kept watching Killer B, worried that the Eight-Tails inside him would go berserk.

Killer B had consumed somewhat too much chakra today.

The Third Raikage had approved of him bringing Killer B into the village.

The previous Eight-Tails Jinchūriki had changed the way Kumogakure trained Jinchūriki.

Jinchūriki needed warmth and contact with other people.

Therefore, Killer B could occasionally come to the village, though his seal had to be carefully inspected beforehand.

Chiba Shun, however, was focused on something else. He was observing their swordsmanship.

Both of them seemed to have reached a critical point.

Suddenly, Chiba Shun said, "With Multi-Sword Style Swordsmanship, because there aren't enough hands and feet, you must use the inertia of thrown swords."

"One sword, or even several swords, can remain in the air at all times."

"You can use swords in the air by striking them or kicking them."

"You also need to constantly adjust your footwork according to where the airborne swords will land."

Upon hearing Chiba Shun's words, the two people who were fighting enthusiastically immediately began trying it.

Each of them threw a sword at the other.

At the same time, they controlled the airborne blades by either kicking them or striking them with the long swords in their hands.

At that moment, Killer B's talent became apparent.

He had only mastered Four-Sword Style and had not yet begun practicing Five-Sword Style.

Yet as they sparred, he actually became the first to master Five-Sword Style.

Moreover, Chiba Shun could tell that he still wanted more.

After thinking about it, Chiba Shun threw one of his swords toward Killer B.

"Fool, perfect timing! You join too—one against two!" Killer B rapped as he caught Chiba Shun's long sword and invited him into the fight.

Chiba Shun smiled and joined the battle as well, working with Sakai Yushi against Killer B.

He and Sakai Yushi worked together seamlessly, and they quickly suppressed Killer B, who was wielding six swords.

The sight made Yozuki A's heart pound.

But Killer B was excited.

The more he fought, the smoother it became. At first, only two long swords spun through the air, but later, three long swords left his body at once and still occasionally attacked Chiba Shun and Sakai Yushi.

Sakai Yushi had also become engrossed in the battle. Only today had he finally confirmed that the swordsmanship Chiba Shun taught him was truly viable.

With Killer B's example before him, he believed it would not be long before he too could wield six swords.

Clang, clang, clang, clang...

After everyone had fought for a long time, Killer B seemed to realize something. He suddenly exerted force, and the attack frequency of his six long swords increased by several degrees.

Chiba Shun's heart jolted because Killer B's target at that moment was him.

He hurriedly retreated while blocking.

Before long, Killer B had cut multiple wounds across his body.

Suddenly, with a clang, the long sword in Chiba Shun's hand was directly cut in two by Killer B.

Each of the five long swords Killer B used was no worse than Chiba Shun's long sword, which could conduct chakra to a certain extent.

Chiba Shun was quite envious. He did not know whether this was treatment the village gave its Jinchūriki.

Or perhaps they were gifts from Yozuki A to Killer B.

Of his own long swords, only one could clash head-on with Killer B's blades. The others had not broken yet, but all of them now bore chips.